Magical Girl Raising Project: Nadir
by Eizelle
Summary: A seemingly errant rookie Magical Girl. An ace of the Examination Division and the Magical Girls under her. A Land of Magic-sanctioned apprehension of a Rogue Magical Girl gone terribly wrong.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 **A Parting Gift**

D-City, a sprawling metropolis of considerable size. Residential districts melt away into business districts in a cavalcade of lights and infrastructure, this is the home of the Magical Girl known as Phantom Pain.

 **Phantom Pain (Time: Day 0, 19:00 PM )**

 _Whoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa_

Like hell anyone's gonna turn their faces to look at me.

Darting through the city night, wailing the way an Ecuadorian lady would, it is I, the mysterious, the fantastical!

You thought it was just some ordinary Magical Girl, but it was I,

Phantom Pain!

…Good lord I still can't get over how I'm named after one of my favorite video games. It just feels so magical!

The surrounding cityscape transforms into flashes of its former constant movement as I constantly teleport from person to person, my Magical Ability, _to teleport behind people_ , sure is the most convenient one out there.

It's been about 2 weeks since I've become a Magical Girl, but from what I hear, unlike most, I've been working alone far too early into their lives as one. Should it really matter though? There's no other Magical Girl like me, as if I'm gonna learn much better with some mentor to constantly kick my ass around!

And come on, I forgot to mention, I _am_ the most stylish Magical Girl around, look at my sharp outfit! Blacks! Lotsa belts! And a fedora to tip it all off!

"M'lady"

Tipping my fedora to the nothingness of air, I continue to race around the city. No better way to feel alive after all, and as for the people around me? I did remember something about Magical Girls not revealing themselves too much to others, but holy fuck is that some boring blabbermouthing!

Can they honestly expect people to turn their heads quick enough to follow my movement as I teleport behind multiples of them? Geez, if they did, they'd be fucking owls! Or snap their heads as though this were some horror film.

Nonetheless, it's been a pretty fun two weeks into this so far. Even the administrating fairy of my Selection Test, as they called it, was pretty damned surprised to find out that I'd be the one to pass it. Heh, like hell I'm gonna let being something as cool as a Magical Girl slip under my nose.

I mean, I _really_ do love Magical Girls, there's just really something to girls awakening to justice that manages to keep it on the top of my favorite genres. It never gets old, y'know?

And now, I've just reached my favorite spot around my home, D-City: the radio tower! Coming off the last person I teleported behind, I ran towards it before using the momentum of my sprint to leap and catch unto one of the metal structures of the radio tower. From there, it's just a matter of climbing and jumping up to reach the top…

…Whoops, looks like I broke out that really rusted part of the tower! And now the entire thing seems damn unstable, fuck. Guess they'll just have to fix that next thing in the morning~

Aaand done! I'm at the top, but fuck is this thing leaning badly. My view of the city ain't as level as it used to be from here. Just as I was about to descend from the tower, I feel my Magical Phone vibrating.

Ahh, who the hell would be texting me at this time of the day? Barely anyone talks to me nowadays-

Ohh, it's from Pakka. Man, sometimes I feel like I'm really lonely that my only friend is a klutzy Magical Girl, but she's a great girl though!

"Meet me at the rooftop of our favorite resto, ASAP. Something I need to give to you."

Huh, that's strange, I don't recall her being this terse nor formal. Oh well, wouldn't hurt to check out on her.

…Is this tower fucking collapsing? _Shit_. That rumbling didn't sound good.

"Ayieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Fuck does the ground hurt, even with the body of a Magical Girl. Probably would've died if I weren't one! Man oh man, my outfit's fucking ruined, there's a tear in it!

Oh wait. Popping out my Magical Phone, a few clicks, back to my shitty human form, and back to my menacing Magical Girl form!

Tada, all those ugly tears fixed, back to new~

Well now, it's time for me to take my leave from this wreck. Rushing back to the cityscape, I begin teleporting through town once more.

"I'm homeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Well, it looks like Pakka, or Nezumi-chan as I love to call her, is fine as always. The usual greyish-blue outfit, with her hair tucked underneath her beanie. Somewhat like a street scavenger, but much cleaner. Seems like she's hanging her magical sack that sucks in air and blows it out, off the side of the building though, and not directly behind her like usual.

"Welcome back, Fantomy."

Huh, that's odd. Even in our greeting to each other, Pakka doesn't seem so lively. She's got her back turned towards me even.

"Yooooo, something the matter Nezumi-chan? You seem rather down."

I teleport directly behind her, and yet Pakka doesn't even seem to budge an inch from her position. I did notice her fish something out of her pockets

…A bottle? And with some fancy looking candy inside of it.

"This one's for you, Fantomy. I'm sorry but I won't be around much longer, got a new job for the Land of Magic that's gonna take me out of D-City for a while."

"Land of Magic? You're already working for those geezers? Didn't expect they'd pick you up, Nezumi-chan, no offense. And what's that fancy candy in your hand?"

Speaking of, I wish I never had to work for those geezers at the Land of Magic. Pretty rough people, a buncha don't-do-this-don't-do-that's. Kept on mouthing to me about how to be a Magical Girl, eventually decided to ignore their messages. It's not like they'd do anything to someone harmless like me, right?

"Well, they did say that my Magical Ability was perfect for the job. Who would've thought the day would come, Fantomy? Anyway, I've also received a warning that something's gonna go down in D-City in the next couple of days, that's why I got this for you. It's called Healing Medicine, be wise about popping it though. It'll also temporarily strengthen you while you're at it, I just wanted to make sure you're safe from danger while I'm away."

"Geez Nezumi-chan, that's kinda grim. You sure you're okay up there?"

Taking the bottle from Nezumi-chan's hand, I examine it closely. Looks like the real deal though, I remember seeing one of these back when I had just become a Magical Girl, and I doubt she'd try something funny with me using it.

"Yeah, I'm pretty okay. Sorry 'bout the seriousness and all, Fantomy. I was just worried about your safety and all since I'd be away for a while, and I don't exactly trust those old geezers up there to keep you safe."

"Aww, you're so awfully sweet, Nezumi-chan!"

Embracing Pakka from behind, I nuzzle up with her for a bit. It might be awkward, but she's really the only one who I can do this to.

"Ehehe… I gotta take my leave now though. See ya."

Patting my hand, I know that Pakka's signaling me to let go. I let go of her, as she leapt off to the streets below.

"Oi oi, take care Nezumi-chaaaaaaaaan! Go show those geezers what you're really made of!"

Watching her run off to the distance, I can see her signaling back at me with a Thumbs-up sign. It's relieving really, especially now that I'm seeing that she's not stumbling as much while running with that magical sack of hers. Looks like she's trained up quite a bit for her new job.

Well, I guess that does it for today then. But first I gotta do a totally cool exit to match Pakka's!

Turning my back towards the ledge, with my arms spread wide like a cross, I leap off into a freefall.

Any moment now

Any moment nooooooooooow

Oh come on where the fuck is everyone-

OUCH!

Goddammit, now I've landed on solid ground again!

"Hey missie, are you okay?!"

Great, now someone's seen me in a totally uncool position! Looking around, I see the culprit walking up to me: A little girl. Cute teddy bear she has on her too.

I let out a groan trying to get up from my fall, before patting the little girl on the back.

"You're a brave little girl you know? But don't worry, big sis over here's a-okay, alright? I'm fucking invincible after all-"

As I was about to wink at the little girl, I could see what appeared to be her mother looking at me. Glare in her face. Bad, she probably did not like seeing me swear in front of her precious darling. _Bad influence,_ she might say to her.

"Well fuck! I gotta scram, see ya!"

Hurriedly I ran away from the scene, teleporting behind people as much as possible while I was at it. Besides, it's more convenient to travel like that anyway. Running is _so_ exhausting. At this rate though, that old hag ain't gonna be able to catch up to me and give me a good whacking. Hehe.

 **Silver Adder (Time: Day 0, 15:00 PM ( -6 hours from D-City Time ) )**

A hot and arid afternoon. Deserts stretching for miles, and the only cover from the sun is this abandoned warehouse over me. Even then, the roof has cracks in it. Heavy disuse. Behind me, a half-dozen of unconscious Magical Girls. Their crime, being Rogues and resisting the Land of Magic. Tried interrogating them, but they spat out nothing of use. Guess they're just another diversion sent to distract me.

Those girls will be scheduled for extraction by the Land of Magic sooner or later. What happens to them afterwards, I don't know. Maybe they'll be stripped off of their Magical Girl status, maybe they'll be sent to prison.

Kicking back on the only chair available, I ponder whilst waiting for these girls to get extracted. Watching over them, I wonder about their employer. The case I'm investigating is about a Magical Girl who purportedly has the power to "evolve" Magical Girls. Whatever the hell that meant. Nevertheless, some of the most powerful Rogues I've captured had ties to her, the level of their powers not even matching what our records have on them at times, and if anything, it seems like she's serious about overthrowing the Land of Magic. Her motives? Nothing I'll probably care about. She's going against the order of the land, and she's going to get what she deserves.

Suddenly, my Magical Phone rings.

Cadenza. A new report from her?

"Boss, I've got new evidence regarding the mysterious disappearance of the Magical Girls in D-City. Looks like we have a possible culprit now: A Magical Girl by the name of Phantom Pain. Forwarding it to you now."

Checking out the attachment in her message, it's a recording. Audio only. This must be what she was talking about.

"Yes, I can confirm that I've killed all the Magical Girls in the surrounding districts. No, none of them were viable candidates, hence why I spared no one. Will I get my reward now?"

Cold-hearted. This voice is the voice of a killer. How did she get this though? This is quite the evidence. First, I'll call up Cadenza.

"Cadenza, this is Silver Adder. The evidence you just forwarded to me, I'm curious how you got it."

"Ahh, hello boss. Didn't expect you to call me up, but well, call it serendipity, like the stroke of genius that a composer needs to make an obra maestro, yes! So, you see, remember how I was on one of my tours of duty in Europe?"

"Yes, yes, I remember sending you there."

"Well, I managed to catch one of the more "important" Rogues so to speak, easily overpowered her after a couple of days lying in ambush, had to go under for that too if you can recall. Put her up for interrogation and she coughed out that there's something in her Magical Phone that might interest me. From the looks of it, her Magical Phone's been modified too by the way. Guess that's why she's managed to slip under the Land of Magic's noses."

"I do recall you going under for a few days. Go on."

"That's when I found it, a recording of the call made by this girl to our culprit. Pretty lengthy one, can get chatty at times too, so I had to excise the junk and present only the vital pieces. Is that fine with you?"

"It's enough to make a conviction, fine by me. Any idea on how many casualties we have on our hands?"

"Hmm… The Rogue I captured said around 20. Pretty much matches up with the Land of Magic's official tally of missing Magical Girls in the incident. Hope we can catch her soon."

"We will."

Ending the call with Cadenza, first, I have to determine just how grave the threat is, can't afford to waste too many people and resources when there are a lot of ends to cover in the case I'm handling.

Sending out an alert to everyone under my unit, I set my Magical Phone on the floor. Not too soon afterwards, faces start popping up. Holographic projections, this new Magical Phone we were supplied with sure is useful for meetings when we're all far apart, as our operations entail.

"So, everyone here?"

13 faces from the holographic projections, to confirm my question, one of the girls answered.

"Yes, Addie. All of us are present now."

"Alright, we're good to go then. Listen up everyone, Cadenza has just forwarded new evidence on the incident that went down on D-City a few days ago. I thought the case was about to go cold, but here it is."

Playing the recording, the reactions from everyone were clear. Not much for Cadenza though, she was the one who did forward it to us after all. The rookie, Cheeky Grin, had an expression burning with a desire to bring forth justice. Vanciel, one of the more reluctant members, seems terrified at this Phantom Pain's cold-bloodedness. Understandably, the more senior girls, like Averette and Kernel Bucket, do not seem so fazed.

"We will be handling this case like we always do. Standard procedure, assess the threat and situation then send in the appropriate amount of force. Parlie, you know what to do."

A Magical Girl with what appears to be the outfit of a presidential debater nods, before making her opening statement. Her Magical Ability is _to win any debate she starts_. It's how we obtain intel.

"Phantom Pain is weaker than even Cheeky Grin!"

Huh, that's surprising. So our bogey's a weak one, yet also responsible for a lot of casualties?

"Weaker? How so. Prove your point, Parlie."

"She has nearly no physical strength as a Magical Girl! Not to mention she has zero combat experience. She was just turned into a Magical Girl 2 weeks ago."

Strange… Cunning perhaps? Not every assassin was a soldier.

"She's very stupid either, isn't she?"

"False, she's actually quite brilliant! Though it's come to the point that she's very awkward socially speaking."

So it was sleight-of-hand that allowed her to kill those Magical Girls. Very well then, now all that's needed to be figured out is her Magical Ability.

"Her Magical Ability has something to do with pain."

That's the natural assumption I made using our bogey's name, if I'm wrong, well, at least Parlie's power will rectify my error.

"Wrong, her Magical Ability is _to teleport behind people._ "

Teleporting behind people? Now that's something we have to be careful about.

"Alright, that's enough Parlie. We have everything we need to know, Cheeky Grin, this will be your first assignment. Sockpuppet, you're coming with her, supervise her and teach her how to operate properly."

"Roger that boss! Cheeky Grin, moving ooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuut!"

The enthusiasm of a rookie. I like it. I just hope it doesn't get her killed in the field of action.

"Alright boss. I'll be taking one of your socks with me, Cheeky Grin. I hope you don't mind."

Hopefully Sockpuppet's experience will temper Cheeky Grin's enthusiasm. Our bogey doesn't seem much of a threat in the heat of battle, but I don't want anyone dying on me now.

"Good, the rest of you, resume your duties. Silver Adder, out."

 **Cheeky Grin (Time: Day 1, 7:00 AM )**

After a few hours of preparations for the operation, including setting up a reservation in one of the local hotels in D-City, Sockpuppet and I have finally landed in town to search for that Rogue Magical Girl, Phantom Pain. To think I'd be getting the assignment of catching a really dangerous rogue this early on into my career, I'm quite surprised!

Walking up to our prearranged hotel, I'm actually quite surprised that Sockpuppet doesn't look much different from her Magical Girl form. She's still quite the _disheveled_ looking girl, messy-looking hair, oversized clothes that are barely kept together, and I imagine that she doesn't go out much. Her skin's really pale for one, almost like a mirror reflecting the rays of the sun.

Keeping a really big grin on my face the whole while, it seems like Sockpuppet's kinda irritated about it. I wonder why?

"Chee-Ahh, I apologize, Ms. Amai, please do remember to refer to me as Kimura while we're not in our Magical Girl forms, okay?"

"Alright Azumi, ma'am! I'll make sure to keep that in mind!"

Sockpuppet sighed, and clearly was trying to keep her frustration to herself. Dang, I hope I didn't say something wrong…

She rushed ahead towards the entrance of the hotel as a result, leaving me behind. I sprinted to catch up to her, but the fact that she lumped up all the luggage on me is making this kinda tiresome. Spotting one of the hotel staff, I wave at him signaling him to help me with the luggage. He rushes towards me, and very quickly, but respectfully, takes the load of carrying the luggage upon himself. Finally catching up to Sockpuppet, I find her nervously standing in front of the reception counter. The clerk appears to be slightly weirded out by her.

"Is something the matter, ma'am?"

"Ahh, forgive me! My friend over here Azumi-chan has quite a difficult time talking to strangers, ehehe… Well, we're here for our reservation at room 13K!"

I can feel Sockpuppet's glare towards me.

"Hmm… Room 13K, then I presume you two are Ms. Kimura and Ms. Amai? Your name's on the list."

"Yep yep, that's the both of us!"

"Alright, in a short while we'll have you escorted to your room. Do you have any luggage with you?"

"Ms. Amai…"

Sockpuppet's glare grows stronger by the minute… Oh my, I forgot about telling her that I let the luggage be carried instead by one of the staff on the way in!

"Ahh! I'm sorry, I'm sorry Azumi! I forgot to tell you that I let one of the hotel staff help me bring it all the way here, just so I could catch up to you-"

"YOU WHAT?!"

Whoa whoa, now I didn't expect her to flare up this suddenly despite her previous awkwardness with the reception clerk.

"Oh, there he is! Over here big bro!"

Looks like the staff I signaled at had just arrived, since I did go way ahead of him trying to catch up to Sockpuppet here. Waving at him, he quickly rushes to the two of us, before I give him a wide smile.

"Heya, thanks for helping me with the luggage big bro~"

He blushes slightly at my remark. D'aww, ain't he such a cutie?

 _3 hours later_

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING, LEAVING THE LUGGAGE TO THAT BELLBOY?! YOU DO REALIZE THAT IF HE FINDS OUT WHAT THE FUCK WAS INSIDE THAT BAG, WE'D BE GOOD AS DEAD RIGHT?"

"Whoa whoa! You've been at this for 3 hours already, calm down Sockpuppet! It's not like the operation would've gone to failure-"

Good lord is she not losing any passion with this while we're at it.

"AND WHAT IF HE DISCOVERS ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF MAGICAL GIRLS? YOU DO REALIZE I HAD ENTIRE CHARTS THERE OF INFORMATION THAT COULD HELP US DEAL WITH OUR TARGET, RIGHT?"

"Looking at you he would've thought you were a lunatic. Heh-"

Shit. Right now she's grabbing me by the collar. As small and frail as this girl looks, she's actually _kinda_ terrifying now that she's this close right now.

I held myself back from doing anything, whatever the case, Sockpuppet was _still_ the disciplinary officer, not me. It'd be to her that Silver Adder would be listening to, not me. Maybe I'll get back at her after this if I can, hehe.

And then the doorbell rang. Great, someone noticed what was going on in the room?

Sockpuppet's anger seemed to almost disappear, as she timidly turned around and walked to get the door. Opening the door, it was one of the bellboys, a different one from the one who helped us with the luggage a while ago.

"Umm, is there a problem, Ms. Kimura? The people in the neighboring rooms have been phoning us about a commotion."

Sockpuppet just froze in place, probably sweating as she stared at the bellboy. I could tell that he was beginning to be slightly weirded out by her lack of an answer. Guess it's time for me to step in!

Sliding in to the scene, I flash a smile at the man in the door, before giving him a wink.

"Hehehey, bellboy~ Don't worry, Azumi-chan and I here are doing both fine! Wanna come join in with us, hmm?"

"A-Ahh, no! No! Maybe they were imagining things, they reported shouting, doesn't look like either of you are the type to shout down each other. I-I'll be taking my leave now, apologies!"

And thus the bellboy left, blushing like the last one. Cuties. Victoriously closing the door, it looks like Sockpuppet's emotions are returning to her.

"A-AND WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING, FLIRTING WITH THAT BELLBOY?! Y-YOU'VE DONE THAT TWICE IN A ROW! A-AND YOU DO REALIZE WE'RE ON A OPERATION NOW RIGHT, AND NOT SOME M-MEET-UP?!"

Now that's the Sockpuppet I know! But hey, this really isn't something that'll risk the operation now… I've got an idea.

"Oho~ So you're jealous that the bellboys were blushing a little when I smiled at them? Hey, now that I think about it, how about I show you how to get a smile like mine!"

"W-Wait up, Cheeky Grin, you stop this instant right noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow!"

 **Sockpuppet (Time: Day 1, 10:00 AM )**

 _This girl._ For a recruit, there are times when she seems completely unabashed about what she's doing, _then_ there are times when she actually does seem to feel a little bit of embarrassment. Or at least some humility. Just like a while ago.

And now the very same girl I'm talking about is roughly holding my head in a headlock, forcefully brushing my teeth and damn is it beginning _to hurt._ How the hell has this girl not brushed her teeth off at this rate?

I'll let it slip for now though. I don't think she's really gonna disrupt the operation that much with what she's doing, besides, I guess I do have to work on socializing, rather, even confronting other people. I might've just ended up nervously staring at the other bellboy until he left if I were alone.

She has potential, I'll give her that.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand done! Tada!"

Cheeky Grin boisterously lets go of my head, as I stare at the results in the mirror… Hey, it's actually kinda whiter now. That's impressive, a little.

"Yeah well thanks for not brushing my teeth off. The hell are you, some sort of industrial brushing machine?"

"Gee Sockpuppet, you're such the sourpuss! Your smile's gonna grow dimmer with the rate you're going…"

I sigh. Sometimes I feel this girl isn't just not cut out for this kind of work. It's that kind of personality that gets people killed at times. _Having the time to worry about things not important to the operation._ In my service as Silver Adder's disciplinary officer, I've seen many girls go just because of that one fact. Taking care of their family, worrying about the feeling of their crush, so on and so forth… It's too bad that it was this girl's specific choice to join the Examination Division, saying she wanted to beat up some bad guys. Hard to turn away those kind of people, their desire for justice is just too strong.

"At any rate, Cheeky Grin, that's enough fooling around. I suppose though that you're mentally prepared for the task at hand? If you are, I'll start our on-site briefing."

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeep! I'm ready to go and fight us some villains! I'm ready to come home a hero!"

"… _That's the kind of thinking that gets you killed"_

Whilst nodding at her response, I murmur to myself silently. Her eyes widen as though she caught that I was murmuring. Great.

"Ahh, it's nothing, really. Just worried about the operation."

"Hey now, I've got you here with me right? I'm sure you can cover for me if things go badly! Come on, I trust you~"

Well… You're definitely someone. Alright, guess I'll just go ahead with the briefing.

Reaching into my luggage, I grabbed out the map of D-City, and a few charts. I sprawled them on the table provided in our hotel room, before putting my finger on the map.

"Alright, first things first. D-City is 30 square kilometers, but luckily the urban planning behind it makes it so that we can cleanly divide the city into four quadrants with roughly the same area. You'll handle the western side, I'll handle the eastern side. Now, Cheeky Grin, we'll be separated for the majority of the operation until _one_ of us spots our target. You better not engage her until I'm around, got it? I don't want to see you getting in any trouble on me now."

"Roger Sockpuppet! I'll try to control myself."

" _Try._ You better. In any case, we'll be doing this until either of us feels too tired to go on. Once that is the case, we are to return to the hotel room ASAP. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes yes~"

"And one more thing, about your Magical Ability."

"Yeah? You actually think it could help us in the operation?"

"Of course it will, you dingus! Anything would, but here's what I was thinking for yours. Aside from using it to potentially dazzle our target, I want you to use it to communicate with me at night. Of course, I'll have a copy of you with me while I'm at it, so you could try to learn from my example. It'll also act as a nice exercise for your control over your ability."

"Communicate? Like those lights in the comic books? Look, I can't make it look like any of the letters-"

"Not exactly. Wabun code, you know how to communicate in that?"

"Nopey-dopey. Not at all, what's that? Some super-cool ninja code?"

Cheeky Grin tilts her head a bit curiously. Great, but then again I can't exactly expect her to know about this. She's kinda young after all.

"Hmph, here you go."

Quickly tearing out a memo pad, I write on it all the kana and their respective form in Wabun code. At the end, I scribble another note

 _One short flash for the dots, one long flash for the dashes. Separate each kana by one second. Spaces between flashes per kana should not last longer than a second._

"Aww geez, you expect me to memorize all this?!"

"Not now, you dolt. Better keep that on you until you _do_ though."

I watched her nod as she took the memo I gave to her. Afterwards, I resumed the briefing.

"Aside from helping you learn how to control your powers, this is also a good form of communication in case your Magical Phone's not gonna help you. Like, let's say, she gets a hand on your phone and breaks it. You can potentially use this to signal to me that something is wrong."

"Alright, got it!"

"As for the intervals that we'll be sending messages to each other, we'll send them every 5 minutes. I want you to have your head to the sky by then, okay? And if there's an emergency on your end, better signal me through that while you're at it. Won't hurt to send in as many messages as possible."

"What about you though, Sockpuppet?"

"I'll use my Magical Phone, and _maybe_ my copy of you."

"Maybe? Aww c'mon how come I'm the one who has to flash a light in case of an emergency 100% of the time?"

"Do you have two heads, Cheeky Grin?"

I snicker slightly as I let out that remark. That felt _satisfying._ Too bad it had to be at her expense though.

"Fine, fine I get it… In any case I'll make sure to have my Magical Phone's alarm set to loud with that."

"Let me hear your alarm tone first."

Shyly, which I did not expect to be frank, Cheeky Grin places her Magical Phone on the table. Tapping on it, it was then I realized why she was so shy about it.

It was that fucking annoying advert tune for the latest variety of the biggest toothpaste brand around town.

Goddammit, now that catchiness is getting to me.

"Alright, alright! Cut it out damn it!"

I clasp my ears shut after having had too much of that _damn_ tune. Goddammit, I should've expected it when I saw the kind of toothpaste she was using on me a while ago!

Freeing my ears once she'd withdrawn her phone, nevertheless, that ringtone is too noisy for my tastes.

"Well, are you fine with it, Sockpuppet?"

"Of course not! That thing's going to be too noisy if it goes off! Why not set your damn phone to vibrate instead?!"

"Alright, hold on…"

Great, this girl's looking down just because I told her to not use her favorite ringtone?

"You know what, nevermind, you can keep the ringtone. I just hope it doesn't lead you to drawing any attention from our target onto you."

"Awww thanks, Sockpuppet! I'll make sure to do my best in exchange~"

At that, I stood up. Taking out my own Magical Phone, I transformed into my Magical Girl form. Reaching into my luggage, I drew out Cheeky Grin's spare sock and held it with my hand. This one's quite thick… Guess it's to go with her lively attitude. Thin socks would break with the energy she has.

"Well then, you wanna start now? Since it's daytime though, we'll obviously just stick to our Magical Phones for communications, but still with the 5 minute rule. Switch to using Wabun code at nighttime. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yep, clear-o~! Let's get going, I wanna beat up some bad guys already!"

Leaping off energetically from her seat, Cheeky Grin transforms in mid-air…

…Before colliding with the ceiling. I notice a slight crack on it. _God fucking damn it._

"Better watch it next time, Cheeky Grin! If someone spots that we might end up having to pay for it."

"I understand, I understand~"

Nodding off, we open the window on our hotel room. As Magical Girls, it's better if we stick to unconventional routes to avoid detection. Well, unless someone's looking at the wall at this very exact moment, we should be fine. Slipping on Cheeky Grin's spare sock, I use my Magical Ability, _to manipulate doubles through socks_ , to create a copy of her.

Letting her princess-carry me, I have the _great_ fortune to hear Cheeky Grin comment about it.

"Oh my, look at you, making me princess carry you and all~ Hey, why not you just tell me next time, okay? You're my upperclassman after all, I won't mind!"

"SHUT IT! It's only because this is a lot more comfortable than being carried like a fucking corpse!"

Oh well, guess I'll get used to Cheeky Grin eventually. I sneak out through the window first, before confirming the safety of the route for Cheeky Grin. Following suit afterwards, it's time for the operation to commence. Off we go. Hopefully we'll spot the target first, before she notices us.

 **Phantom Pain (Time: Day 3, 9:00 PM )**

Going around town, I've lately noticed something rather unusual. Since, I guess, 2 days ago mysterious spotlights have been shining around town. Well, spotlights is one way for me to describe it, because those fucking things move too quickly for spotlights!

Roughly going off in a series of flashes every 5 seconds, it looks like some sort of code. Morse? I remember seeing that back in a movie I watched, cool military shit, but I fucking reckon that the police have a more efficient way of talking to each other. Criminals? Dunno how the hell they'll lug around those spotlights, but maybe that's the case. I haven't checked the latest news reports though, boring shit. The source of the flashes did go around town in a roughly coordinated manner. A bunch of muggers on the prowl it is then.

Actually, you know what, doing all this fucking detective guesswork bullcrap is gonna get me nowhere. Might as well go find out myself. Since my favorite ol' radio tower is still fucking broken, I end up on the roof of a skyscraper. Goddamn is it a fucking tough climb though! Shit left me barely breathing, not enough surfaces to fucking cling on, and mostly jumps to the top. Damn architects!

Oh well, the view's better here by an astronomical unit anyway. Pretty much nothing blocking out my sight, so it should be easy to spot the lights. Hmm, I think it's been 3 minutes since the last flash. Should've brought some food, this would make a comfy picnic.

…As comfy as a picnic is done alone.

Wind's a nice friend up here at least. Now that I think about it… This city's kinda beautiful in its own way. Towards the north is where most of the housing's found, a lot of the lights there are pretty much the streetlights. Pretty well-lit though, not a scary place to walk at nighttime. My house itself is towards the northeast, pretty secluded place, and like always, the lights are off. I rarely have use for them, especially now that I've got practical night-vision with my Magical Girl form.

Sweeping down south, closer to my position, the somewhat sea-like lights of the housing district become a pitch black sky filled with bright stars due to the height of the buildings. Unlike the north where it's obvious that people are beginning to end their days, life seems constant here towards the south, albeit a bit more sluggish than at daytime. Some of the buildings resemble giants of pitch-black darkness, and the others stick out like fucking neon glowsticks. Meh, those lights should be popping up anytime soon…

Almost like it were reminding me, a fucking gust blows at my face. A few seconds later, opening my eyes right after the air settled down a bit, I see exactly what I came for.

The lights.

Shining straight up at the sky, there's a light further towards the east. My position's here in the southwest, though I do remember there being one light closer to the west. And just as I predicted, the light of the east goes on and off periodically, as though it were speaking a code. I don't have the time to remember it all though, so I just continue to observe.

And then it ended. So, now where's that other light-

AHH WHAT THE FUCK THE SHIT'S SO BRIGHT SO FUCKING BRIGHT IS IT FUCKING DAYTIME AM I STARING AT THE GODDAMN SUN?!

I wanted to find the source of the light but _holy fuck_ do I wish it wasn't this close to me! From sitting on the ledge of the skyscraper, to lying on my back, it becomes more comfortable to watch at this unreal light show. Now that I'm not busy getting my eyes seared to death, I can tell that the light's coming from the building after this one. Hmm… Guess all I have to do is wait for it to finish.

Aaaand done!

Up, up, up I go into the air with a leap, I see my culprit now.

…A girl in red in white? Her outfit's kinda sparkly, like that kind of shitty glitter you find in art projects. Shit taste. 0/10

Looks like some sort of tracksuit while we're at it. Hey, speaking of tracksuit, if this girl's a Magical Girl…

Shit, she's fit for one. She's getting the fuck away from me fast!

I'm surprised her attempts at leaping on the buildings aren't turning into demolition jobs because fuck can I hear her jumps!

Two choices, I try to use the streets by teleporting behind the crowds to catch up to her, would be easier but then I might lose track of her. _Or_ I actually try to do what she does.

…As tiring as that is. How the hell does she have the energy to do all of this?! Even as a Magical Girl trying to do what she does would tire me!

Or maybe I'm just a really bad one physically speaking. Maybe some things just really don't change going from human to Magical Girl.

No choice, I can't lose track of her now. Please don't die on me now, my damn legs!

 **Cheeky Grin (Time: Day 3, 9:45 PM )**

Day 3, and still no luck finding that target. My smile's beginning to turn into a pout at how annoying all of this is. Gnuuuu

I can't even recall how many of those reports I've done by now, but I'm beginning to get the hang of them. Right after I finish my transmission, I feel a hand tap me on the back.

Uh oh.

"Heya there, nice sparkly outfit ya got there, but what's with the lights?"

A girl with a rather _strange_ and black outfit's what confronts me. D-Did she notice me shining the lights towards the sky? I'm so gonna get into trouble with Sockpuppet for this. I hope she didn't notice anything at all!

"A-Ahh, the lights?! I…"

Should I tell her? Should I not tell her?

…Maybe I can lie my way out of this!

"Ahh, you see, I've got a new secret military-grade flashlight that's _really_ bright on me right now! A friend of mine and I are currently testing it-"

"Then explain why I saw you leaping through buildings."

Oh no.

Maybe I should really tell her, ehehe…

"Ahh, the truth is, you see… I'm a Magical Girl!"

Okay, it's time for me to pull off my introductory pose. A wide smile, one hand on the hips, my body slanting slightly to the right, and my right hand forming a peace sign pointing right from my smile. All set to go!

"The Sparkling Light in the Dark, the Smile to Brighten up your Day, Cheeky Grin!"

"Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, that's so cool! You're like, the third Magical Girl I've seen-Ehem."

The girl in black interrupted herself mid-speech, before she did what I guess was… Her own pose? It was really awkward looking though, is her back gonna be okay like that?!

"THE MYSTERIOUS, THE MENACING, THE SHADE FROM THE PITCH-BLACK DARKNESS,

PHANTOM PAIN!"

Phantom… Pain? Wait a second, I've heard of that name somewhere…

Oh. JACKPOT!

"AHA, I'VE FOUND YOU AT LAST YOU EVILDOER, PREPARE FOR MY SHINING PUUUUUUUUUUUUUNCH!"

I've done it, Sockpuppet, I've got the target! I'm gonna reel her in good, and I'm gonna get a promotion for all this, hopefully! I can't wait to beat up more bad guys after this-

D-Did she just disappear?! That was fast! Where is she now-

"Ahh, so you wish to engage in glorious mortal combat with me I see. However, you ignoble knave, you do not know who you are facing down in this arena that we now share! I, the Phantom Pain, possess a power beyond which you can comprehend, beyond even the thoughts fathomable by mankind itself! From within my world I reign supreme, and now it is from within my world that I shall cast down my judgment on you, Cheeky Grin, for daring to bring harm to me!

PREPARE YOURSELF FOR A PAIN FROM THE SHADOWS THAT YOU SHALL NEVER RECOVER FROM!

HORYAAAAAA!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **Shining Lights on the Phantom**

 **Phantom Pain (Time: Day 3, 9:45 PM)**

Didn't expect this Cheeky Grin girl to attack me all of a sudden, but I can care less because this scenario is quickly turning into something straight out of one of my favorite manga! Holy shit is this fucking amazing!

I totally even did one of the poses I was practicing for fights like this, and even the lines I was gonna throw around! It's so unreal, but it's too damn cool!

Now I'm gonna land this punch right center through your back and send you flying away with the strength of a Magical Girl! Prepare yourself, Cheeky Grin!

…

OUCH!

Oh god, that hurt, that hurt so goddamn much it was like trying to punch a goddamn car! What the fuck, I thought that being a Magical Girl would've made my fists strong enough already. Wait… I had trouble running on the rooftops before. Don't tell me my Magical Girl form somewhat reflects my real self, though a bit stronger?!

Bah, that sucks so badly-

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH

 _Shit,_ being sent flying by Cheeky Grin was totally not cool! At any rate, I'm gonna crash into one of the buildings, unless…

Aha!

I should probably make my getaway for now, poof I go!

 **Sockpuppet (Time: Day 3, 9:45 PM)**

Damn it, when is Cheeky Grin going to send her report…

One, three, one, three and three.

…I hope this isn't what I think it is

Three, one, three, one and one.

 _Enemy._

Shit. What about the enemy?! Instinctively I command my Cheeky Grin double to princess-carry me and begin racing towards Cheeky Grin's locations

Three, one, and one. Three, three, three and one. One, one, one and three.

 _Enemy Spotted._

Quickly grabbing my Magical Phone, I start a call with Cheeky Grin.

"Cheeky Grin, have you been spotted by the enemy?!"

"I'm sorry Sockpuppet, but I've been spotted- Shit, she's getting away! And fast!"

"Don't lose track of the target! I'll start tracking you now using your Magical Phone, better forget about using your Magical Ability to signal me, use it to dazzle the target instead! Don't you dare try confronting her until I've reached your location, give or take 15 minutes."

"Roger, Sockpuppet!"

 **Cheeky Grin (Time: Day 3, 9:50 PM)**

Finally, some action! Now this is real nice, too bad I can't really fight her until Sockpuppet's here. Still, a little chasing's a lot better than all that searching.

Damn did the enemy's punch feel _impossibly_ weak, but I guess that takes away from some of the danger of fighting her. On the other hand, it's getting hard to keep up with her, the way I see it, her teleport's instantaneous and works best in crowded areas. I'm gonna need to isolate her somehow…

Wait, I can mimic the police with my Magical Ability as the spotlight, but then, where will I mimic the voice?

Come on, Cheeky Grin, think…

"Sockpuppet, this target's going too fast using the crowds as her venue of escape! I'm thinking of mimicking the police, but how am I going to mimic their use of megaphones?"

"Just get one!"

"But how, Sockpuppet?!"

"I don't know, rob the fucking store or maybe make a rush payment for one?"

"The stores are closing right now dammit!"

"Then hurry the fuck up and get one of those megaphones, pronto! I'll cover for you if you get into any legal trouble."

"Roger!"

Store… Store… 10 minutes to closing time. Gah, this chase really is getting too frantic! On one hand, I have to keep track of our target, who's really damn fast at that, and on the other hand I need to look for an appliance store to get one of those megaphones.

…Aha!

Good thing the enemy's movements led me to what seemed to be the shopping center of this D-City's business district, somewhere near the center of town. Some of the crowd seems to be hurrying inside to make their last-minute purchases, while the others are trying to get out ASAP, their destinations from there unknown to me. Scanning around, jackpot, an appliance store!

Analyzing the movements of the target, it seems like she's headed back deeper into the business district, from the looks of it, the shadier parts, dark alleyways and all. What, were you trying to confuse me by getting to this huge crowd going out in all directions? Nice try, but I've got you figured out now! Whilst heading to the appliance store, I grab my Magical Phone and make a hasty call.

"Sockpuppet, can you intercept the target in the shadier parts of town? That's to the southeast of my current position."

"Hey, what's with the sudden change in direction, do you want the both of us to lose track of the target?"

"No! That's exactly why I'm asking you to head there, because I'm gonna dive into the appliance store and get ourselves a megaphone! Besides, our target uses her Magical Ability too much to lay hidden."

"Okay, I'll head there, but make it quick!"

Ending the call, I crash into the appliance store.

 **Phantom Pain (Time: Day 3, 9:50 PM)**

 _Crash!_

Quickly turning back, I see some shards of glass flying into the air.

What the fuck, did that girl actually crash into a store just to chase me? Wow, talk about fucking dumb. Oh well, time to make my getaway!

Luring her into this really crowded part of town that's about to disperse was a good idea, now she can't figure out where I'm going just by the composition of the crowds. Time for me to take the expressway of people to the dark alleyways of town! Should be able to shake her off by then.

…Damn, what about the thugs there though. I don't wanna get into any scuffles while trying to lose the heat on me, might attract more attention on me. Guess I'll be forced to stow away for a bit in my Magical Girl form until the sun's up.

As I reach the darker alleyways, I quickly find myself with a lot less people to teleport behind, meaning I'm forced to use my legs a lot more. At this point, I'm reducing myself to walking to avoid attention, but goddamn do I wish I could use my Magical Ability a lot more! Good thing walking doesn't seem to tire me out as badly as running does.

Ahh well, I should be safe here-

Shit, was that another fucking light just now?! Holy fucking hell that was too quick of her!

…I guess there's no choice but to stand toe-to-toe with Cheeky Grin. How am I going to do it with her obvious advantage in strength though, dammit Phantom, think, fucking think!

Ahh, right, the Healing Medicine Pakka gave to me! Now, if only I had it on me right now…

Right pocket, nothing, left pocket, nothing, back pocket, nothing, inner pockets, nothing.

Come fucking on I had to forget about it?!

So it's come to this then.

Mustering up all my courage, and ballsiness, I climb to the rooftop of the building nearest to me.

I'm gonna face the heat head on!

 **Sockpuppet (Time: Day 3, 9:55 PM)**

Gehhh, I wonder where that target went. All of a sudden she's a lot stealthier than Cheeky Grin made her out to be. She might have a lot less options for escape here, but at the same time, she's gonna virtually have nothing for us to trace her to here…

Wait a second, was that some shouting?

"OI OI, YOU BASTARD!"

Could this be the target? Peeking out from my hiding spot, I see a Magical Girl in a rather _outlandishly_ black outfit waving at my copy of Cheeky Grin. Commanding the copy to face her, I make her speak.

"AHA! FOUND YOU ONCE AGAIN EVILDOER, PREPARE YOURSELF!"

Sending out the copy to punch her, I barely miss my mark as the enemy Magical Girl disappears all of a sudden. Great, where'd she go? Running towards the Cheeky Grin copy, I order her to princess-carry me once more as we begin pursuing the target once more. Reaching the last position I saw her, I see her fleeing towards the east. This time, it looks like she's using her Magical Ability to its fullest, and goddamn was Cheeky Grin not fooling around about her speed! If not for my enhanced senses as a Magical Girl, it'd be damned near impossible to track her.

Grabbing my Magical Phone, I quickly phone in Cheeky Grin.

"Cheeky Grin, the target's fleeing once again! I spotted her but now she's headed to the east of my location-Wait, forget about east, _northeast_ of my location! You're gonna be falling behind at this rate, do you have the damn megaphone already?!"

"Yes, yes, I just got the megaphone! Goddamn lines were getting in the way, so was the cashier fishing up some change. I told the clerk to just keep the change to himself as a tip. Goddammit!"

"…You what?! YOU SERIOUSLY WENT THROUGH ALL THAT TROUBLE TO BUY THE MEGAPHONE?! I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU THAT I'D COVER FOR YOU IF YOU GOT INTO ANY LEGAL TROUBLE! YOU DO REALIZE YOUR OUTFIT WILL GET YOU MORE THAN ENOUGH ATTENTION AS IS, RIGHT?!"

"About the legal trouble… I broke through the storefront just to make the purchase-"

"JUST HURRY UP AND LET'S GET TRACKING ON THE DAMN TARGET TOGETHER ALREADY!"

"A-Alright Sockpuppet! I'm guessing I'm around 5 minutes away from your position with the speed I'm running at, damn, this is getting tough!"

"Okay good good, keep it up! I'll call you in once I figure out where the target's headed for."

…Shit, the buildings are beginning to thin out _and_ get shorter the more I head towards the northeast. It'll be harder to track her from ground level, but on the other hand, it looks like there's a lot less people now for Phantom to teleport behind. She's beginning to slow down. It shouldn't be too long before before I catch up to her, but first… I need a good hiding spot.

The problem is there aren't too many hiding spots with a good view of the area here in the housing district. Clever… But you won't be getting far if all you're gonna do is run. The running speeds of Cheeky Grin, or my exact copy of her, and the target are almost comparable. The major difference is that I've got the advantage of stamina.

"Yooooooooo, Sockpuppet!"

Turning my head towards the direction of the voice, that is, behind me, it looks like Cheeky Grin's caught up. That's a megaphone on her alright.

"Good thing you caught up, because the target's losing speed! We can pull off a pretty easy capture now!"

"So what are we gonna do with the megaphone?!"

"I don't know, hold onto it for now! I'll keep my beam on her, you rush ahead and use your own to dazzle her once you're in range!"

Just then, we heard a motorcycle whizz by. Cheeky Grin and I were probably varying between one to two storeys above the ground when it came around.

...Wait a second, the target's no longer within my searchlight. Great… Where'd she gone off to?

"Oi oi, Sockpuppet, she got on the motorcycle!"

 _Shit!_

 **Phantom Pain (Time: Day 3, 10:00 PM)**

Talk about good luck, a motorcycle just popped up! At least now I have enough space to teleport behind, cars just don't work too well with that. First things first, I need the biker to bring me home. I hope he doesn't mind me hitching a ride like this!

"Yo."

"E-Ehh?! How'd you get here?"

"Uhh… Even if I explained it you wouldn't believe me. Hey, do you mind taking me home first?"

"Take you home?! You're a complete stranger that popped out of nowhere, one that hasn't even answered my question and you _want_ me to take you home?"

Ahh shit, come on…

Aha!

Noticing that he's beginning to shake his motorcycle violently, I pretend to fall off and-

GODFUCKINGDAMMIT THE ROAD HURTS!

And now my cheek is bleeding, fucking great!

Before that motorcycle gets too far away from me, I teleport back to my spot behind the biker.

"Soooooo, you taking me home yet? You nearly killed a girl you know, just what kind of guy are you! Where are your manners?"

Hehe, manners.

"Y-You're alive?! AND YOU'RE BACK ON MY BIKE?! BUT I SHOOK YOU OFF!"

The biker's visibly beginning to show some fear. Good, maybe now I can leverage him to take me home.

"Yes you did, and I'm back here, right? What, you don't believe that I'm still alive?"

Yanking his hand and making him feel my own arm, he might've been a beefcake but at least my enhanced strength as a Magical Girl was enough to do so with ease.

"W-WHAT THE FUCK, OKAY FINE FINE! WHERE DO I DROP YOU OFF?!"

"Hmm… Two intersections from now, take a right, go straight, and then take a left! From there I'll let ya go, mmkay?"

"O-Okay let's go!"

And now I've got a clean getaway, nice!

...Or not. The searchlights are back on me again! Not too soon after that, a megaphone rang out. Was that why that Cheeky Grin crashed into a store?!

"THIS IS THE NATIONAL POLICE AGENCY, WE ARE ORDERING YOU TO STAND DOWN NOW! I REPEAT, THIS IS THE NATIONAL POLICE AGENCY, WE ARE ORDERING YOU TO STAND. DOWN. NOW!"

Damn, so they figured out that I'm on the bike, great! Quickly, I lean forward and cover the side-mirrors of the motorcycle. This is quite an awkward position though… And now it looks like Mr. Biker over here isn't taking the sudden lights too well.

"WHAT'S GOING ON, WHY'S THE POLICE ON US?!"

"JUST KEEP GOING DAMMIT, ONCE YOU'RE NEAR MY HOUSE I'LL GET OFF YOUR BIKE!"

"B-BUT THE POLICE"

"THAT AIN'T NO POLICE, TRUST ME, IF ONLY THEIR SEARCHLIGHTS WEREN'T BRIGHT ENOUGH TO SEAR THE FUCK OUT OF EVEN MY EYES I'D TELL YOU TO TAKE A LOOK FOR YOURSELF AND SEE WHAT'S CHASING US."

"O-OKAY! BESIDES, IT LOOKS LIKE YOUR HOUSE IS JUST ALONG THE WAY TO MY HOUSE!"

"GOOD, GOOD, JUST KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD AND WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T LOOK BACK!"

Aaaaaaaand that's the first intersection passed! Nice!

"Okay good, keep it up biker boy!"

Gah, how am I supposed to give him a pat on the back like this though, with both of my hands occupied in covering these damn side-mirrors! Bummer.

"I'd give you a pat on the back right now but I think you can see that my hands are pretty occupied right now! So uhh, you don't mind if I give you a verbal pat on the back?"

"..."

Why do I get the feeling that now this biker's also getting weirded out by me?

Nearing the second intersection, the one we're supposed to take a right in, I hear a whoosh in the air.

That didn't sound good. That whoosh's also getting closer. Wait a minute, this sounds like something being thrown at us-

OH FUCK! The clang of metal on the ground, and some rubble spewing about. Was that a fucking roadsign that just got thrown at us? It barely missed its mark, but I doubt a second shot would miss at this rate.

Speaking of… That's another goddamn whoosh!

"OI OI, BIKER BOY, BRACE YOURSELF!"

"Huh?!"

"Better prepare yourself for that right turn when I signal you!"

...This guy can't hear what's going on over his damn engine? Wow, or maybe it's because I have better hearing than him now. Whatever the case, I quickly leap off into the air, teleport back behind good ol' biker boy, though this time ending up handstanding on my seat. With all the strength I can muster, I bring my body down into the strongest double-knee I can pull off on this motorcycle, letting go of my hands as I do so.

…

I-It worked! The motorcycle got kicked off just a bit further away!

...But then I'm left behind here. Here goes!

"Saved your ass buddy."

Right as I was about to get hit by the second roadsign, I made it.

"S-Saved my ass?! You could've wrecked my motorcycle with what you did. Speaking of, how the fuck did you even do that?!"

"It was either I wreck your motorcycle, which fucking hurt mind you, or the both of us get hit by a fucking roadsign flying at who-knows-what-the-fuck speeds, getting the both of us killed!"

"WHY THE FUCK WOULD A ROADSIGN BE FLYING AT US?!"

"It's the second time and you can't even hear what the fuck was going on? Is your engine really that damn loud for you?"

"YES IT IS, I CAN BARELY EVEN HEAR YOU AT THIS RATE!"

Oh, no fucking wonder. That explains it.

"IN ANY CASE, ALL THAT'S LEFT IS TO GO STRAIGHT AND THEN TAKE A LEFT! BY THEN, WE SHOULD BE IN THE CLEAR BECAUSE I'M GONNA CRAWL THE REST OF THE WAY TO MY HOUSE!"

Whoosh. Great, do they ever run the fuck out of roadsigns to throw at me?! _Whoosh._ Son of a-

Change of plans, this dude and I are gonna be good as dead if we continue at this rate.

Up ahead, I spot an old lady trying to take out her garbage, further up towards the right. I must be damn lucky right now, because I also spot another person, this time a kid looking up to the night sky from his room's window. That was opposite the old lady. All in all, should be within 100 meters from each other. Guess I'll tell biker boy that I'm off now.

"Yo biker boy, I'm gonna get off here and now! No need to slow down for me though."

"ARE YOU CRAZY?! DO YOU WANT TO GET YOURSELF KILLED?!"

"Hey now cool it, big bro, I can take it! Besides, if you slow down you're gonna end up good as dead anyway, don't want my free ride to die on me for when I next need it~ Hehe."

Repeating the same sequence I had done to dodge the second roadsign, this time I brought myself down on the motorcycle with even greater force.

"W-WAI-"

Too late biker boy, I've already kneed you out of the way of the incoming roadsigns. Now, that leaves only me.

ACK! _Fuck_ I miscalculated how much airtime I'd have! Making a rough landing on the pavement, the searchlight disengaged from my new friend and focuses on me, lying on the cold, hard pavement. That whooshing's also getting damn closer now, need to fucking act quick!

Turning around to a prone position, I feign a struggle, even if that landing did really fucking hurt, and crawl as though reaching for the old lady. At the last second, I teleport towards her back, standing upright before giving her a pat on the back.

"Hey, grandma, don't mind if I help you with the garbage today?"

Good ol' grannie looked towards me with a bit of shock in her face, before it turned into a weirded-out expression. Oh come on!

"What is with your outfit, you youth these days… But here, I give you my thanks for helping an old woman like me with the garbage."

Accepting the garbage bag from her hands, there's at least a small smile on her face as I rush off to the designated drop-off…

...That said, looking at the bag, I see a bunch of cans.

Nice, today's cans and glass bottles day. Could probably use this to distract them… I'm sorry to the garbage collectors out there!

Closing in to a few meters of the drop-off, I quickly shuffle through the bag to take out a couple of cans wrapped in a plastic bag, before hurriedly going through the motions of depositing the garbage bag, and then throwing one of the cans towards the right, going over one of the houses.

To confirm if my trick had worked, I turned towards my back, eyes closed, and opened my eyes slightly to see that the beams of light trying to search for me had now turned right to the tune of the thrown can.

Alright! My getaway should be clean leading up to my house now then. Turning back to the boy from before, I teleport behind him, before sneakily making my way out of his house. Sounds like his parents are real fucking asleep because I could hear their yawns from here!

 **Sockpuppet (Time: Day 3, 10:05 PM)**

Clank. Clank. _Clank._ A trail of cans is now all we have left to track down the target. Previously we interrogated the old lady she had teleported to, all she would say was that she'd kindly taken her trash for her to the garbage disposal drop-off.

Still, something seems off about this though…

"Hey, Cheeky Grin, you think this actually leads to the drop-off?"

"I… I don't really know Sockpuppet, maybe we should've asked the old lady first. Hey, why not we split up and I go ask her?"

"Not now, Cheeky Grin… If we split up we could be picked off."

Cheeky Grin seemed a bit in disbelief of my suggestion, but she relented. We continued to follow the trail of cans… Until they stopped. We looked around for any more cans, and there were none.

By then we practically lost track of where we were. In the steep darkness of the night, this housing district turned into a maze which the target cleverly hid in.

...Wait, darkness? We Magical Girls practically have night vision, this night shouldn't be darker than any other. I ordered my copy to stop lighting up the area, before turning to Cheeky Grin.

"CHEEKY GRIN, HOLD IT! SHUT DOWN THE DAMN LIGHTS."

"W-Why?! We might lose track of-"

"JUST FUCKING DO IT!"

Not too soon afterwards, Cheeky Grin closed off her own beam of light. The two of us just stood there, me pondering on what we should do, and as for Cheeky Grin, I don't know about her.

Then it hit me. A few minutes pass by and I can clearly see what was going on in the dark. Eyes adjusted to bright light don't do well in the dark…

 _Fuck!_

I made an error that could cost us this entire fucking operation!

"CHEEKY GRIN, HIGH-TAIL IT BACK TO THAT OLD LADY, ASAP! WE FIND HER THEN TRACE OUR STEPS TO WHERE THE ACTUAL GARBAGE DISPOSAL IS!"

And thus we burst into full sprint towards the old lady. Of course, it was Cheeky Grin speaking to her for me.

"Hey, madam, where's the garbage drop-off by the way?"

"Ohh? You don't know? It was just straight ahead, I was about to call you girls that you were going the wrong way but then you got too far away for me to even shout at you."

"Damn… Sorry madam, but thanks!"

Giving our bows, we ran straight ahead, and true enough, the garbage drop-off was there. The door had been hastily slid back from the looks of it, and upon further inspection, one of the bags looked like it'd been opened in a rush.

Inspecting it, it was only then that I had just realized what the target had done.

Using some of the cans from the garbage bag of the old lady, she intentionally misled us towards the wrong path in order to make her getaway. To make matters worse, I had the good fortune of having not one, but _two_ extremely bright searchlights going off that disrupted our natural night-vision as Magical Girls, meaning we lost peripheral vision in the dark. Fucking hell!

"In my years of hunting Rogues, Cheeky Grin, I'm going to tell you here and now that what we have here is probably the smartest fucking target I've ever been assigned to hunt down. You think we should call up the boss for reinforcements? I can see now how she possibly murdered a whole lot of Magical Girls here in D-City despite being weak physically speaking."

Reaching towards my Magical Phone, I saw Cheeky Grin signal me to stop.

"Wait, Sockpuppet, before you do that, since I was going ahead of you I recall hearing something about the directions going towards Phantom's house."

"W-Why the fuck didn't you tell me about that then?!"

"Because I thought she was taking an alternate route instead to her house!"

Fair enough. From how the situation seemed then, it was more logical that she didn't exactly take the direct route to her house.

"Then that means… You lead the way Cheeky Grin, I'll cover you."

"Alright, let's go!"

 **Phantom Pain (Time: Day 3, 10:15 PM)**

 _Stay low and crawl along the ground, that should enable you to sneak past enemies_

Following the wise words of the dwarf leopard, I make my way home safely! Damn, even if I've only seen this done in the games I play, it's pretty effective for staying out of sight. Good thing this Magical Girl form helps in going through the motions of the crawl, especially since I'd fucking struggle with this in my regular ol' self.

Up to my good ol' bedroom, and tada! There you are, Healing Medicine! Ten pops, all left untouched since I got this from my friend Pakka. Looks like it's about time I use one of you-

What was that? Just now I heard something like a wall being broken through. Fucking great, did they just wreck my house to get in? Must've overheard my conversation with biker boy, ain't that convenient.

Coming down to the ground floor, it's time I confronted these bastards.

"Yooooo you just wrecked my collection of figures man, damned things cost more than a hundred thousand yen total, at least have the damn decency to knock on the door-"

What the fuck, there's two of Cheeky Grin now? _Great._ On one hand, one of them is missing a sock. Strange. In any case, I have to lure this fight the fuck out of my house because I don't want my place getting wrecked in a shitstorm that these two are likely to cause.

"Hey, you know what, why not we take the fight outside, hmm? You want a good ol' beatdown I'll give it to ya-"

"HERE'S A BEATDOWN FOR YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Give me a goddamn break I haven't even taken my pills yet! The Cheeky Grin with two socks comes forward to me, fist cocked for a haymaker. Dead giveaway, I teleport behind the one-socked Cheeky Grin further back.

Appearing crouched down, anticipating an elbow, I should be safe for no-

WHAT THE FUCK?! Instead of my prediction, what comes for me is one-socked Cheeky Grin's right knee coming straight at my face. Fucker turned around knowing I'd be there, worse, knowing that I'd be fucking crouching!

It's too late, I can't fucking dodge and OUCH!

Oh god fucking going through concrete _hurts_ like hell. That hit was calculated damn well, too damn well when compared to the clumsiness from two-socks Cheeky Grin. It seemed like she was even baiting me to keep my crouched position while she was at it. Not too soon after, lights are shined on me. Great… Now they're trying to dazzle me!

Instinctively, I get on a prone position, before quickly fishing out my pockets for the Healing Medicine. It's now or never!

Popping it, I can immediately feel some healing, along with a renewed strength. It feels like it might take a while to recover from my wounds, but at the very least I should be able to stand toe-to-toe with them now.

"Hey, Sockpuppet, don't mind if I'm the one to take her in?"

I hear Cheeky Grin go off. The question is, which one? It's the one towards my left. And who's this Sockpuppet?

"A-Alright you go ahead!"

I hear another voice go off, further away from my guess of the positions of the two Cheeky Grins. Guess this is whoever that Sockpuppet is. Seems like they want to take their damn time approaching me though. Since I can't look at them directly, I'll need to at least break off their lights on me enough for me to pull off a teleport. Some rubble scattered around, I quickly grab it before throwing it towards the light at both Cheeky Grins after stowing away my Healing Medicine. Through my eyelids I can see that the light has ceased. A brief moment of respite as they tried to get their heads away from my rubble, I open my eyes to teleport behind the Cheeky Grin to my left.

Now there's something I have to clear up: Which one's the real Cheeky Grin, and which one is a double of Cheeky Grin? And what relationship does any of the three have to do with this Sockpuppet?

From the double-socked Cheeky Grin, I flee to the back of my house. First things first, I _seriously_ need to draw this fight away from my house. Second, I need to confirm which Cheeky Grin is the real Cheeky Grin. Third, I have to figure out if I can attack Sockpuppet, whoever she is, directly.

Most of all, I need to fucking end this. And quickly.

The Cheeky Grins catch up pretty quickly to what's going on, double-sock doing so naturally, while single-sock doing so in a jolted fashion. One point, she's rushing forward pretty methodically, the second after she stops, almost like she's adjusting to what's going on.

It's… It's like one of those old horror games with really shitty fixed cameras that make the experience a whole lot fucking harder. The ones that fucked you up real bad because a fucking monster out to kill you was conveniently hidden by a bad angle. Like the camera's swung in the wrong direction and she needs to fix it first before she can move forward assuredly.

Sockpuppet. Wait a second… Wasn't that the term for fake profiles online? Fakes, shitty camera angles, a rather experienced fighter that turns into a complete dumbass the moment the "camera" is swung in the wrong direction…

...A puppet master controlling a double? The inexperience of the double is evident, but it's also like there's a mentor constantly behind her telling her what to do without any form of delay in communication. It's also like she's got a pair of eyes behind her, otherwise, that fucking knee would've been an instinctive elbow.

So it looks like Sockpuppet's hiding somewhere close. Doesn't look like she's too far away since I can obscure her vision of me using the walls around this place.

I should fucking abuse that.

Leaping over to the street, double-sock follows me, this time rearing to fucking attack. Leaping off the wall into a pounce, I slide beneath her in order to lure her eyes on me.

Heh, fucking idiot. Using the brief moment she's focused on me whilst mid-air, I teleport behind her, delivering a satisfying punch straight at her head. Sending her reeling towards the ground, the crack of concrete confirms my success. Afterwards, I scan my surroundings to see the approaching single-sock. Took her a while, probably from Sockpuppet having to look for a better position.

...Fuck, this airtime's going to be the death of me. I can't use double-sock here to fucking right myself, so no choice. Single-sock it is!

Appearing behind her, this time I make my orientation coming off the teleport to something that'd provide me vision of double-sock. Just in time, I come off another teleport, now standing over the downed Cheeky Grin.

Stepping back from her, and back unto solid ground, it looks like single-sock stopped coming towards me in an attempt to pull off a counter. At this rate, she's too close to pull off a strong enough charge and is gonna have to either punch, kick, or whatever the fuck else she can do.

"Hey hey, easy there. See this little cunt over here?"

Kicking lightly on Cheeky Grin's head, it looks like I knocked her unconscious. One down I guess!

"Doesn't look like she did great yanoe. Wanna end up like her, bitch?"

Somewhere, somehow, I can feel that whoever this Sockpuppet is, is bursting in anger. Single-sock, on the other hand, is just standing there, frozen.

"If it's a fight you want, why not take it away from my goddamned house? You fucking wrecked the place looking for me, so better pay up too while you're at it!"

"WE'RE NOT PAYING UP FOR SOME FUCKING CRIMINAL SHIT LIKE YOU!"

Hoo boy, looks like Sockpuppet's pissed! Niceeeeeeee.

Single-sock immediately comes back to life as she begins delivering a flurry of roundhouse kicks and haymakers. Sensing the danger, I flee back a bit until single-sock just stops. She just hangs in there, retardedly, for a couple of seconds. Looks like Sockpuppet has a range limit on her, too.

Coming a bit close to single-sock, I begin teasing her a bit. Making multiple feints in the form of kicks and jabs, it's almost comical to see the fucker try to grab me and put me into a lock.

"Heyyyyyy Sockpuppet, your Cheeky Grin's shit-tier! Look at this fucker, I draw one finger towards her, she fucking tries too grab it-Woops, too late! I'm outta her reach! Come on, is this all you gonna offer to me? I reckon that other Cheeky Grin with her inexperience was a lot more interesting than you!

You know what, let's keep at this until the sunrise, it'd ought to be a damn shitshow with your Cheeky Grin as the laughing stock! She'd look like a fucking retard-"

"SHUT UP!"

Boy oh boy, she's out! The motherfucker's out! Out from hiding behind a wall, is whoever this Sockpuppet is. Looking at her, good lord, what the fuck is she, a clown? She looks like one fucking run over by a truck!

Right as single-sock attempts to grab me, I teleport behind the now exposed Sockpuppet, before putting her in a chokehold.

Damn is she light too, I easily lift the damn bitch off the ground!

"Heya there Sockpuppet, it's about damn time you showed yourself! So, tell me, you going to pay up for the damn wrecking you gave my house, or how about I put you in the same spot as Cheeky Grin over there?"

A lot of squirming, but to no avail. This Sockpuppet's damn amusing with how she's going, little punk.

"HEY, ANSWER ME, YOU GONNA PAY UP FOR MY DAMN HOUSE OR NOT? IF YOU REALLY WANT A FIGHT I'LL GIVE YOU ONE, BUT NOT RIGHT HERE WHERE YOU CAN FUCKING DESTROY MY PRECIOUS COLLECTION-"

"SOCKPUPPET WATCH OUT!"

 **Sockpuppet (Time: Day 3, 10:20 PM)**

Damn it, I got ahead of myself! If not for Cheeky Grin regaining consciousness, I might as well have been dead by now. A brief flash directed at the target's face, and she was dazed long enough for me to slip out of her grip. Scrambling away from her, Cheeky Grin helped me get back into position as the fight resumed once more.

"Sockpuppet, I suspect she's got Healing Medicine on her, because she's a damn lot stronger than back when I first encountered her!"

Healing Medicine?! I knew it, she seemed too unnaturally powerful. Where did she even get supplies like that, those aren't handed around like candy even in the Examination Division! Just what kind of connection does she have?

Making my copy nod in response to Cheeky Grin's intel, I bring her up in a proper fighting stance just beside her.

"Hehehey, it's been a while since you used that damn light. Something the matter, shitface? Getting too bright for you? Ugly stain on your teeth you don't wanna show?"

Damn, for quite the while now she's been trying to push on our buttons, getting us to do something irrational. I can't let what happened a while ago repeat again!

"CHEEKY GRIN STAY CALM, WE NEED TO WEAR OFF HER MEDICINE, DON'T LISTEN TO HER-"

" _NOW_ YOU'VE FUCKING DONE IT!"

Rashly charging at the target, using another one of her flashes on her, I can barely see what's going on due to the damn brightness of her power. The next thing I know, I hear some rubble hitting Cheeky Grin's head. Another bad hit, and I can see it clearly stunning her. Damn dirty fighter the enemy is.

The next thing I know, she's flying towards my copy of Cheeky Grin. Shit! Looking at how strong that throw was, it's obvious that the target is inexperienced, but being more than compensated by the Healing Medicine's strengthening capabilities.

While on one hand I have to be worried about Cheeky Grin's safety, that's a lot of hits she's taking, I also have to be worried about the fact that she's taking my double too far away from the radius of my Magical Ability! I can't just squirm out of my hiding spot like this, I might end up in the same predicament as a while ago.

Peeking out from my hiding spot, the target's slowly approaching Cheeky Grin and my double. Given my estimation, they're at least 20 meters too far for my ability to take effect.

Slowly, Cheeky Grin is stirring from her position. Since she hasn't used her ability I'm sure she can see me clearly in the dark. Signalling by gesturing towards my double, then making motions with my arms coming towards me, it's a good thing she got what I meant immediately.

She grabs my double, gets up from where she landed, and hurls her straight at our enemy. To confirm that it had reentered my effective radius, I was able to manage a somewhat-awkward flying kick with her current state. Not surprisingly, the kick was dodged by a teleport behind my double, though the double did make a clean landing coming off of the kick.

Which leaves me in a good position now: The target's surrounded from two sides.

Still… I would rather drag out this fight than end it here and now. It's surprising for a rookie that Cheeky Grin's still standing despite the damage she's suffered so far. Compared to my relatively-untouched double, she's bleeding a whole lot from the wounds on her head.

"CHEEKY GRIN, WE HAVE TO LET THIS FIGHT DRAG ON SO THAT THE HEALING MEDICINE WILL WEAR OFF! WE SHOULD RETREAT FOR NOW AND POSSIBLY ATTACK HER NEXT TIME!"

At this point, I don't fucking care if our enemy hears me, I'm more concerned about Cheeky coming out of this _alive_ and well than completing the mission, at a cost that makes me shudder in fear.

"CAN'T DO THAT SOCKPUPPET! WE HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO TAKE HER DOWN NOW, IF WE DON'T WE MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO CATCH HER EVER AGAIN!"

... _Shit._ Much as I hate to admit it, there's some truth to what she's saying.

"You heard the girl, Sockpuppet! Let me get away this fucking once and I'll be on my ticket outta here in a jiffy, good luck trying to catch me ever again from there!"

Grr… That does it! I've had enough of this fucking "weak" target this mission's all about, I'm gonna put an end to this once and for all!

Quickly, I make my double signal Cheeky Grin once more. This time, I'm not using her Magical Ability directed high up at the sky, that would be too obvious at this point, plus it might ruin my vision briefly, but rather making her stomp the ground this time.

Three, one, one, one. Three, one, three, one, three. One, one, three, one, three. One, one, three. One, one, three, one.

Alternating between legs with each kana, I'm sure that her practice with the lights would at least help her understand what I'm saying.

Three, one, one, one. One, three. One, three, one, three, one, three. One, three. Three, one, three, one, one. Three, one, one, three. Three, three, one, three, one, three, three. One, one, three. One, three, one, one.

Good! Looks like she got it. Here goes.

One, three. One, one, one, three. Three, three, three, one, one, one.

 **Cheeky Grin (Time: Day 3, 10:24 PM)**

 _Pincer attack._

 _Affirmative, shall we go?_

 _Let's go._

Though we used stomps instead of my Magical Ability, I perfectly got what Sockpuppet wanted to tell me. I'm quite surprised at myself that it wasn't too long ago that I found this whole Wabun code thing really confusing. No wonder she was trying to teach me all this!

This way, our villain has no idea of what we're up to. Heh. This should be over in a flash, prepare yourself!

"HEY, EYES OVER HERE! HOW ABOUT I SHOW YOU JUST HOW AWFUL YOUR FACE LOOKS RIGHT AFTER I MESS IT UP?"

The target quickly shifts her attention to me. Good! She'll have no idea this way of knowing what's coming behind her. The double quickly initiates a jumping kick, aimed straight at her head, and with that it's about time I start too!

Entering into a sprint, I rear my fist once more to land a satisfying haymaker right smack into her face! Meanwhile, it seems like our enemy's completely clueless to what's going on as she just stands there, hands behind her back, cockily looking at me.

"Hey, Cheeky Grin, you do realize that if I've got my eyes on you, I can just easily teleport behind you right? What, you gonna go and try planting your fist in my face again?"

...Oh shit, she's right! Goddammit how could I have forgotten!

Opening my mouth to make a wide grin, I immediately hear Sockpuppet go off from her position.

"CHEEKY GRIN DON'T LISTEN TO HER-OH GOD, TURN OFF YOUR DAMN LIGHT RIGHT NOW! I'M TELLING YOU, TURN IT OFF RIGHT NOW!"

Everything around me's beginning to darken as my eyes adjust to the brightness of my Magical Ability. Damn! All these nuances are beginning to piss me off-

Right as my light goes down, I quickly notice a roundhouse kick from the target aimed straight at me. It's sloppy though, as to be expected of our weak villain right here. Going under it, I only find out right after that she's gone-

Off-balance. A kick headed straight for my chin. And I'm being shoved towards it.

Is… Is this how it all ends?


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **Cloudy Skies**

 **Phantom Pain (Time: Day 3, 10:24 PM)**

 _Crack._

That didn't sound so good. The next thing I know, the flashy bright red outfit of Cheeky Grin's gone, and she's in what I presume is her human form.

From my estimates, her neck was probably snapped _pretty_ badly by what just happened. Lugging her body off of me, I could see the double just standing there, frozen again. From a corner further ahead, Sockpuppet's popping out of her hiding spot. The look on her eyes… Thanks to my nightvision, I could see it clear as day.

Shock. Disbelief. Worry.

Shit, did this Cheeky Grin just die on me?! I can't linger around here any longer. For now, my house is a less important issue. Fleeing as far as I could from the scene, my last sight of Sockpuppet filled me with a sense of dread.

Anger. Rage. Hatred.

She's not gonna let this live down isn't she?

 **Sockpuppet (Time: Day 3, 10:24 AM)**

Just a few days ago, I had under my wing one of the most promising rookies I've ever had the chance of mentoring. A few days later… She's…

She's dead.

The target… No, that monster tricked Cheeky Grin, ruining our pincer attack and making it the death of her.

In a way, I'm responsible. As her senior I should've known better, and not led her into that situation in the first place. On the other hand…

That monster knew just what was about to go down. I may have been too obvious with how I dived into such a risky maneuver, but it wouldn't have happened if this damn fucking **BITCH** stayed down and just let herself be apprehended cleanly.

"Boss."

I had opened my Magical Phone right beside Cheeky Grin. I kept my double around to be on guard, but I have no thoughts of keeping her around any longer after I depart from the area.

"Yes, Sockpuppet? How's the mission going?"

"Failed… I'm sorry boss. We've just had a casualty on our hands."

"What?! I thought you had a weak target on your hands. Anyways, explain to me later when I debrief you."

 **(Time: Day 4, 10:00 AM)**

I don't know how long it's been since I was just exfiltrated from the field, but Cheeky Grin's body has been put through the proper motions leading to her burial. I didn't delve in too deeply with regards to her biodata, but I was sure that she was within her mid to late teens. Her parents must've taken it really badly.

Just entering the room was Silver Adder. It's about time the debriefing started. Right after closing the door, she sat directly opposite of me.

"Sockpuppet… Have you not slept yet?"

"No, why?"

"I received reports that right after you'd come back from your mission, you just went straight for the debriefing room and shut yourself in."

"And?"

"Look… I've had my fair share of rookies, even good friends dying on me over the course of my career. What I'm trying to say is that maybe you need a little rest."

"That comes later. First, we go with the debriefing boss."

The boss just sighed from where she sat, before continuing.

"Alright, you can start then."

"Day 1, 7:00 AM, we had arrived in D-City after the initial set-up was done, such as making our reservation at the local hotel for the operation. After around 3-4 hours of rest within the hotel room we had reserved, we started operating in the field. Splitting up, me and my double of Cheeky Grin patrolled the east half of the city whilst Cheeky Grin herself took charge of the West. Our search continued fruitless until Day 3, 9:45 PM. Cheeky Grin was discovered by the enemy, whereupon she entered a brief altercation with her. The encounter's outcome was negligible, but the enemy fled almost immediately, using her Magical Ability to flee at speeds which Cheeky Grin could barely keep up with. Right after she had reported the recent developments, I had instructed her to stay on the target's trail, and if possible, use her Magical Ability to daze her until I had arrived, at an estimated time of 15 minutes after her call.

5 minutes into the chase, Cheeky Grin contacted me, proposing that she find a megaphone and use it to help in the interception of the target, reasoning that mimicking the police would help pin her down, especially if it meant keeping the people she was using as her avenue of escape stationary. In order to compensate for the downtime, she directed me to the target's most plausible course at that time: towards the older parts of the business district, filled with shady alleyways. At the time, Cheeky Grin was chasing the target to the central part of D-City, filled with its shopping centers. I allowed her to do so, and assured her that I would cover for her if any legal issues arose over the megaphone's acquisition.

At around 9:55 PM, I myself encountered the target. What ensued afterwards was a chase on foot that led into the northeastern portion of the housing district, where the house of the target is apparently located. Come 10:00 PM, the enemy hitched a ride on a motorcyclist that happened to pass by. Cheeky Grin and I made numerous attempts to disable the motorcycle, either by stunning the motorcyclist or disabling the actual motorcycle, all of which ended in failure until the third attempt to disable the motorcycle. Though the motorcycle was not disabled the enemy was forced to dismount from the vehicle, after which she was slowed down considerably. After a brief diversion caused by the target's, admittedly clever, use of garbage, we were able to corner her once and for all at 10:15 PM. Fighting ensued until 10:24 PM, when the target took my planned pincer attack maneuver on her and used it to kill Cheeky Grin, fleeing afterwards."

"..."

Silver Adder just stared at me after I had finished speaking. That look in her eyes, however… I could not mistake it for anything else. She was looking deeply into me.

"Sockpuppet, I know there's something else you want to tell me."

"Yes but… It's not related to the mission."

"Well it is related to your well-being now, is it? Go on, Sockpuppet, I'm not stopping you, no one is."

"It's… It's just that... I'm sorry boss. Cheeky Grin had so much potential, I could see it in her in the 3 days we were out tracking down that… That monster. And yet as much as I can blame the target for killing her, I can't deny that I had a hand in her own death too!

I… I'm not the type to just pour over emotionally but…"

My face's getting red-hot and wet. At this point, all I could do was cover my face with my own hands in shame.

"Sockpuppet, just so you know, I also checked beforehand the initial examination and debriefing session they performed on you and after you came back from the mission. That said… I'm telling you that you didn't have a hand in Cheeky Grin's death."

W-What?!

I was the one who called for the pincer attack that led to her death, how the hell am I not responsible for her death?

"Sockpuppet. Look at me, I want to know that you're listening."

…

Fine.

"Good. I understand that this is technically the first time you've ever had someone under your supervision die on you, most of the rookies I'd assigned to you never really went with you when it came to actual missions, you'd only be mentoring them in the interim due to how rarely you go out in the field.

Let's admit, due to that you're probably not as good as I am with dealing with such a situation. So, if you feel like you need it, I've made arrangements for your paid leave, the only thing we need right now, quite literally, is for you to take it. That is, if you want."

"P-Paid leave?! Boss… That… That was quick of you."

"And I'd have to be _quick_ to ensure that everyone's at top condition, okay? So, just go inform the clerk at the front desk if you're taking it. You don't have to worry about time either, it's up to you how long you want your leave to be,. If not though, fine with me, I trust you enough to know whether you can get back to work ASAP.

I'll take my leave now, I need to organize a response to this incident with the rest."

"Wait!"

I called out to the boss right as she was about to leave the room. I'd already done too much with regards to the failed operation, the least I can do is not burden her with an uncertainty.

"You're right. I do need some time on my own, away from the field. I'll be taking the paid leave, thanks boss."

 **Ignition Averette (Time: Day 3, 2:00 AM (-12 Hours from D-City Time) )**

Deep in the rainforest there is no silence to greet the ears, merely the ceaseless cacophony of the life that marches on with time. It is not unpleasant though. In fact, it is quite advantageous for me. When silently surveying the area from the treetops, this cacophony becomes my sixth sense. Those we hunt, the Rogue Magical Girls, often do not know how to avoid disrupting the natural harmony of this sea of trees.

This is one of the many things I have learned from my career partner in the Examination Division, Silver Adder. The only one who I have known since my early days.

A testament to her skill and proficiency in situation awareness while operating out in the field. At first, it made no sense at all to me how such a minor detail would matter, but over the years, consistent application of what she had taught me regarding the environment, its natural harmony have only reinforced it as a skill to keep.

For today however, my investigation deep into the rainforest has yielded nothing so far.

Feeling a vibration from my Magical Phone, I quickly climb up halfway the sturdiest, leafiest tree I could find, and rest myself against its solid bark. Shrouded by foliage, and kept high above the ground, I should be able to avoid possible detection whilst remaining stationary. After I had laid it down on the branch I was currently on, holographic projections of my fellow Magical Girls under Silver Adder appeared, along with Addie herself.

...Something is not right, however.

Addie. IR99. Kernel Bucket. Spark Daruma. Reel Time. Ampy Gustava. Victoria Black. Vanciel. Cadenza. Parlie. News Flash.

There are only 12, me included, of us present.

Where is Sockpuppet and Cheeky Grin? Experience whispers to me to prepare for the worst.

"Alright everyone, I'm pretty sure you can note that there are only 12 of us, including me, participating in this meeting right now. Allow me to get straight to the point.

Sockpuppet and Cheeky Grin have failed in the operation they were deployed for. And we have a casualty.

Cheeky Grin was killed in action.

As for Sockpuppet, she has decided to go on paid leave."

Addie's words were all it took to send the meeting into chaos.

"SHE WAS KILLED IN ACTION?! BUT I THOUGHT THE ROGUE MAGICAL GIRL IN QUESTION WAS WEAK!"

"Weak? What do you expect, she was able to kill upwards of 20 Magical Girls all on her on without support!"

"BOSS, BOSS, HOW ABOUT WE GET SOMEONE TO ACTUALLY WATCH AT HER UNLIKE PARLIE OVER HERE?!"

"A-And now she's killed one of us… This Rogue's actually pretty scary you know…"

"There, there, don't worry about her… She'll have to get through me if she wants to kill you!"

"Don't forget about me you two! She'll be no match for our stylish combination!"

"I knew it, we should've been the ones to deploy on the field, IR99! She wouldn't have been a match for the both of us together!"

"WHAT'S THAT I HEAR, YOU LIL' SHITTY BLUE-HEAD? I'M SURE YOU'D BE FUBAR BY THE TIME YOU ARRIVE ZIPPED IN!"

"My my, Kernel Bucket, uncouth as always aren't we? Need I remind you that your lack of finesse would most _definitely_ result in you wrecking the entire city without actually capturing the target?"

"THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE WRONG, IR99! REEL TIME, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY TO OUR JUICY GIRL?"

"HOW **DARE** YOU CALL MY PARTNER A PROSTI-"

"YOU UTTER FOOL, OUR ARTILLERY STRIKES IS THE WORLD'S FINEST! GUARANTEED TO BRING THE ENEMY TO THEIR KNEES, MA'AM!"

Pretty much the noise of the meeting had drowned out anything I could hear of the rainforest around me. Such was the reaction to the information from Addie.

"SILENCE, ALL OF YOU!"

And with that, everyone fell into silence. Looks like I won't have to step in to help Addie at least.

"Cheeky Grin's death was surely something I had never expected, especially with the kind of intel we were supplied.

Which brings me to one of the main issues I had wanted to discuss today. Parlie, from the reports produced by the debriefing it turns out that our target over here has some Healing Medicine on her! Such oversight was what led to the operation ending in disaster!"

Healing Medicine?! A relatively new Magical Girl, who most definitely has zero ties to any Land of Magic official, was able to get her hands on something that we have to go through all the bureaucracy in existence just to obtain even a single pill of?!

This is… definitely an unexpected development, and a really unfortunate one, too.

"W-WHAT?! THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE-"

"And yet that is the reality of the situation, Parlie! Casualties could've been avoided if you were able to produce this intel beforehand."

"Tch. Even with my Magical Ability, I can't make intel of things you don't inquire about! You never asked me to check if she had any sort of supplies on her that could adversely affect the operation back then! "

Addie merely sighed at how difficult Parlie was being right now. That said, the meeting had to continue on.

"Then I admit that I did have some responsibility with regards to that oversight.

Regardless of whether or not we can really depend on the intel we have on hand, we _still_ need to apprehend the target. Moreso now that this Rogue has murdered one of ours. Thus, the next operation launched, for the sake of her apprehension, will start tomorrow. Any objections?"

And there were no objections. Everyone's faces were slightly more unsteady compared to last time. I have a suggestion to make though.

"Addie, looks like our enemy is the kind that we'll need an active set of eyes on constantly. I suggest sending out News Flash into the field along with whoever we'll send as our response."

"Fair enough, Averette. Speaking of our response, Vanciel, Ampy Gustava, you'll be going in. And just like what Averette suggested, you too News Flash."

Addie's words seemed like a death sentence for Vanciel. Though I cannot deny that she is effective as a Magical Girl in the right situations, her main issue is her timidness. The fright's quite obvious in her face. It made me wonder how she ended up in the Examination Division in the first place.

"Vanciel, you may be worried, but come on, I'll be coming with you…"

"..."

"Boss, please, let me go too! Vanciel will be able to do a whole lot better out in the field if I'm out with her, too!"

Victoria Black interjects. I'm not surprised, those two are rather close after all.

"Unfortunately, I cannot allow for that, Victoria. I still need you to investigate the lead I've assigned to you, but I'll transfer you over if the situation calls for it. Cadenza, you'll also be in reserve for the operation."

"Roger that, boss."

Whilst Cadenza is still able to respond, Victoria herself could only give a single nod. Doesn't look like she's taking this well, so maybe I should step in to help Addie out.

"Look, Victoria, I know you want to protect Vanciel and all, but I hope you understand that we can't just go and funnel in too many resources into the operation. We're pretty tight as it is, and this is pretty much the only allocation Addie came up with that isn't going to marginalize any other parallel-run missions."

Though her look is still quite downtrodden, it looks like Victoria at least understands why at the very least. She turns to Ampy Gustava.

"Hey, Ampy, please take care of Vanciel for me okay?"

"Don't worry Victoria, I will. You have my word for it!"

"Thanks, really."

I just hope that nothing serious happens to these two.

"Boss, let me go into the operation! I don't trust that News Flash to be able to report accurate intel on her own without my help!"

All of a sudden, Parlie speaks.

"SAYS THE GIRL WHO GAVE US THE WRONG INTEL-"

"SHUT IT YOU FUCKING SIMPLETON! THE SENTENCES YOU WRITE IN YOUR REPORT ARE COMPLETE GARBAGE!"

We really have to do something about Parlie's abrasiveness someday, but on the other hand, her words do have some truth to them…

"Alright, alright, stop arguing you two. Addie, as… _Difficult_ as Parlie is, there's some merit to what she says. News Flash's reports clearly show that she has problems putting what she observes into words, and in the case of this operation, we can't have her coming back every now and then just for us to pull off the debriefing procedure to extract our intel directly from her own memories. It'll be impractical."

Addie ponders on what I said for a while, before nodding in approval.

"Indeed, Parlie could help with making sure the reports are intelligible enough for use as intel. I'll be finalizing the deployment team for the second operation to capture the Rogue Magical Girl in D-City, Vanciel and Ampy Gustava, you will form a duo and search for the target. Engage on sight. As for you two, News Flash and Parlie, you will also partner up and participate in active reconnaissance. All the other details, I will leave them up to you to organize.

Dismissed."

And with that, the meeting ended.

There is still something I want to talk about with Addie though. Keying her contact details into my Magical Phone to call her, she responds immediately. I'm glad that she did, at least it doesn't seem like she's too busy right now.

"Hey, Addie, just wanted to talk to you about a few things."

"Hmm? Something the matter, Averette?"

"I was actually wondering how Sockpuppet was able to go on paid leave so quickly. All things considered, I'm sure we both know just how awful the bureaucracy is in the Examination Division."

"That's because I told them they could take from my paycheck if I had to."

What?! Even if I've known Addie for a long time, that still caught me by surprise.

"Addie… I mean, I know you but what about your own expenses? Knowing them they might even just shift all of your salary to Sockpuppet's paid leave until she comes back, are you really sure you want to go with that?"

"I am, Averette. Magical Girls for one don't need any food, which is convenient. Not to mention, when you've been in my line of work _long_ enough you practically are trained to live without a roof over your head. I'm sure we both know that Sockpuppet isn't like the either of us, and It's nothing to worry about. Speaking of, look at who's talking. Haha."

I let out a soft chuckle in conjunction with Addie. In a way, she _is_ right after all.

"Come on now Addie, I'm sure I've told you that my entire family has pretty much forsaken the thought of trying to make me live a conventional life by now!"

"I sure hope you didn't have to set yourself on fire just to make sure you were hardheaded enough to do that."

"Pffft. Please, if I did that I wouldn't even be here now!"

We laughed a bit more afterwards. All things considered, moments like these were a nice brief solace.

"In all seriousness though, Addie, any chance that our target could possibly be one of those… _Kinds_ of Magical Girls?"

"Impossible. If she were, Parlie's intel previously should've turned up something. Plus… Her Magical Ability doesn't match up with the type of Magical Abilities that we've usually found on those kinds of Magical Girls. Not to mention, she's a quite recent one and _highly_ inexperienced. She doesn't compare to the combat-hardened Rogues of that kind we had to hunt down."

"I don't feel like discounting the chance that she is though, Addie. I recall it took three days for Sockpuppet and Cheeky Grin to locate the target. Though I don't think there was anything about the target being highly unusual in terms of capabilities, something could've happened in those three days it took for them to find her. Maybe you should tell Parlie to check up again on her Magical Ability just to be sure."

"Well… You should've raised that a while ago, Averette. But I'll go and notify Parlie."

"Ehehe, sorry Addie, I guess I have a long way to go before I reach your level still. It was only now that the idea of such a possibility hit me."

"I just hope you won't have to reach that level, then."

"Why not, Addie?"

"Because I don't want the situation to reach a point where even you have to get roped into the levels of work I go through right now. I'm sure there are better things you could be doing right now than… all of this. Honestly, you might be one of the most capable in the Examination Division out there, indeed, it's the reason why you're still alive up to this day, and have been my partner ever since we started working together all those years back. With that said, I just don't want to see you making the same kinds of sacrifices I do. Not like this."

Addie… You really shoulder the burden a little bit too much at times.

"You've tried to turn me away from this multiple times, Addie… But honestly, more people need to carry on the fire to fight against these injustices. There's no way we're going to rid the world of Rogue Magical Girls otherwise."

"It's that exact thought that I find very disconcerting, however."

The call falls silent with these words. I don't know what else to say, nor do I feel that Addie knows what to say.

"In any case Addie, I'll just go back to searching here in the rainforest. You take care, Addie."

"You too, Averette."

 **Vanciel (Time: Day 4, 10:00 AM )**

I haven't been able to sleep much since yesterday afternoon.

The only reason I'm even here was because I wanted to go wherever Victoria Black went. She did say the pay was better here, and she wasn't lying either. The work, on the other hand though…

It's scary. It's frightening. Even with my Magical Ability, _to appear as the sky,_ I can't shake off the fear of getting killed. I guess it does help that Ampy Gustava's here with me, but still…

Oh. Looks like I had just finished my painting. Clear blue skies, light wispy clouds. Ever since I was a kid, I couldn't help but look at the sky whenever I could. I remember my dad even joking that I'd strain my neck too much by looking up to the sky as much as I did.

I'm glad we got the highest floor with the best view of the sky for our stay here in D-City. At least… At least when we're not out hunting that Rogue Magical Girl, I can keep myself occupied with making paintings of the sky. It helps keep my mind at ease.

Moving the finished canvas away to the side, I pick up another. A blank canvas, I look out the window towards the sky.

The sky hasn't changed much since I finished the last one. Oh well, guess I'll just look outside until it does then.

Now that I think about it, at least I'm alone for now. Parlie, News Flash, and Ampy won't be back for a good hour or two. Parlie and News Flash are both… quite annoying too, especially when the two of them are together. Their noisiness just destroys my concentration at times, though at least they aren't rowdy. Otherwise, I doubt I would even be able to paint like that.

Speaking of Ampy… I guess I could be slightly less afraid when she's around. I just hope we don't get split up over the course of the operation, but at least it seems like there's only one target around. It'd be pretty difficult to get split over that…

As I look out towards the sky, I can spot Ampy riding the air currents. She did say she'd be out for a bit on her own so she could first get the currents around D-City all mapped in her head, but I'm pretty sure she's also enjoying her time out there. It's the greatest freedom she can find after all.

Freedom. That's part of what I love the sky so much. In a way it's much like an endless, boundless canvas. It's always bound to look different as the time passes by. Sometimes the clouds are wispy, and the sky's light blue. Other times it's a deep azure with strong-looking clouds, or a dark grey with the heralds of lightning, maybe. Come nighttime and it's still quite the beauty, although of an entirely different kind. Sadly, since this is the city, the stars would probably not be out as much…

That limits what I'll be painting then. Pulling images from a search engine doesn't help either, I can hardly find any original photos that I'd like to use as reference for painting, nor ones I haven't used already as such…

Maybe I'll just imagine the stars when the time comes that I'll be painting the night sky. Oh well, it's still a long way to go.

Guess I'll just keep staring at the sky until something comes up.

 _9 hours later_

"We're baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!"

Sounds like it's coming from the television. Great. Looks like News Flash is back.

"Welcome back, News Flash. Did you just leave Parlie again?"

"Huh? Parli-"

"THAT EXPLAINS WHERE THE FUCK YOU WENT, YOU LITTLE BRAT!"

And that's the door banging open. Now Parlie's here.

"BLEH! TOO BAD YOUR MAGICAL ABILITY ISN'T AS COOL AS MINE!"

"SAYS THE GIRL WITH PEANUTS FOR BRAINS! HOW ABOUT I GIVE YOU A NICE LITTLE **DEBATE** AND PROVE TO YOU HOW WORTHLESS YOU ARE WITHOUT MY SUPERVISION?!"

"Hey, hey, chill out you two."

Phew, at least you're here Ampy.

"WANNA KNOW HOW TO SPELL LOSER? IT'S P-A-R-L-I-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"

…

"YOU IDIOTIC BRAT-"

Whatever Parlie was gonna say, Ampy cut her off by muffling her mouth and then holding her off the ground. Parlie squirmed for a while, but it was fruitless: Ampy is much stronger than her after all.

Even with that, however…

"NEEEE NEEEEEEEEE NE NEEEEEEEE NEEEEEE! LOOK AT YOU, PARLIE, YOU'RE SO WEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!"

Pulling down one of her eyelids, sticking out her tongue. I don't know which is the more childish sight, Parlie squirming in Ampy's arms, or News Flash here.

Besides, aren't you just as weak as Parlie is, News Flash?

"Hey, Vanciel"

Hmm?

"We can't just stay like this, maybe give me a little help over here?"

Oh, you're right…

...But I need to keep my paintings safe from these brats first.

"Let me call room service first…"

"For?"

I just silently point to the paintings I've set aside to dry. She immediately understands me, and nods.

"Got it, but maybe keep the door closed a little so they don't see a thing about what's going on inside."

Thankfully, the bellboy who came wasn't able to catch a glimpse of what was going on outside. 2 girls with _outlandish_ outfits, one invoking wires, gathering storms and ocean waves, and the other looking much like TV color bars… Frankly, just the entire scene was ridiculous. He could've suspected that something was going on with all the muffling sounds in the room, though thankfully he did not notice. To top it all off, at least there were no problems in accepting my simple request of handling my paintings for me until I called on them again.

"Can we… Just get this over with now?"

Turning back into my Magical Form, I make sure the door's locked behind me. I also left outside a do-not-disturb sign just to make sure.

"Okay sure, we can start discussing our course of action for the operation~"

As I step closer, Ampy utters something again.

"One thing, help me with one of these pipsqueaks."

Oh no.

Well, I guess it does help that I'm stronger than them…

"C-Can I choose?"

"Sure, why not?"

...It seems like she's having a bit of trouble keeping these two _down_ now. Maybe one like Parlie just a while ago was easy for her, but I imagine it'd be a whole lot worse having to deal with both of them alone.

"Umm… I'll deal with News Flash."

"I figured you would~ Alright, come take her before she starts doing crazy shit or something."

Taking over for Ampy in terms of muffling News Flash, something just hit me.

...Are we going to hold a meeting like this.

"Uhh, Ampy, how are we gonna discuss anything like this?"

"Ohh. Ehehe, I hadn't thought about that…"

Grabbing the table by one hand, thankfully, being a Magical Girl does help with my strength, as I set it gently in the center of a room. Afterwards, I grab four chairs on the side, and set them side-by-side in twos, with each pair opposite of the pair.

"Maybe this will do?"

"Hey, that's pretty clever Vanciel! Nice job~"

There's no need to praise me like that…

Taking our seats, Ampy firmly keeps one of her hands gripped on Parlie's shoulder. I guess that's how she'll keep her under control… Maybe I should try that too.

"Alright, now that everything's under control I guess, I'll start with what I have to say~"

Grabbing a map of D-City from her pockets, she unfurls it with style over the table. Right as Parlie was about to speak, I could see Ampy tense her grip slightly on her shoulder. With a pretty ticked-off expression, Parlie relents.

"So after a couple of hours riding on the air currents, I've finally got the hang of how they go about in this city. They go sorta like this."

I see Ampy tracing a path that starts from the general northwest area of the city going towards the southeast.

"More or less, the plan is that we'll have News Flash search throughout the city for the target, us closely trying to follow her using the city's electric grid. Once the target's been spotted, we'll take it from there and start doing attack runs from the sky using your Magical Ability as cover, Vanciel. You know, like the usual~"

Like the usual… Alright then. Afterwards I see Parlie murmuring, almost like she was begging for something from Ampy.

"Alright, fine fine, you go say what you want to say~"

Right as Parlie was about to speak, I could feel News Flash beginning to squirm a little. Tightening my grip a bit, I hope I'm doing it right like you, Ampy.

"I suggest that while she uses her Magical Ability to move through town doing reconnaissance, News Flash should come back her after every round just so I can go through what she says and report it to you guys in a legible manner! _**PERSONALLY!**_ "

I find myself sighing a bit. Nevertheless, that's exactly the reason why she's _here_.

"We get your point, Parlie…"

"All that said, I guess we should start the operation now~?"

At Ampy's butting-in, I nod.

"Yeah, I don't think anything good will come out of taking too long on the job. Speaking of which, I think I remember that Sockpuppet's group managed to find the house of the target during the previous operation. Maybe we should check that too?"

"Alright, sounds good~ We'll check that first, in the meantime, News Flash, try to search around town and not get yourself caught, okay?"

"OKAY! NEWS FLASH WILL DO HER BESTYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

With that, it's time for us to start.

 **Phantom Pain (Time: Day 4, 7:00 PM )**

After a really _weird_ day of shopping, I've finally gotten myself weapons!

Figuring out that my strength would be enough to make these babies fly straight and true…

BEHOLD!

Knives everywhere inside my coat, knives everywhere around my waist, knives in my boot and inside my hat.

And five knives on each hand that can hold!

Now I won't have as rough of a time as I did fighting other Magical Girls previously, for should they come once more, and definitely they will, they will all suffer a fate worse than that old geezer! Totally blowing away money that could've been used to repair my house was worth it!

...That is, until I run out of knives to throw, where I'll probably have to stop by my house to restock if I can't retrieve them again. Bummer that I don't have hammerspace to work with.

It was quite bothersome arranging all of these knives however. Otherwise, I'd clank with every step I took on the street. Knowing that teleporting around town might just draw unnecessary attention to me, with the fact that Magical Girls _are_ actually able to track me despite the speed at which I teleport… Yeah.

Frankly this is becoming a tedious mess too. I'd love a fight and all, but with the fact that that Cheeky Grin died? I'd probably end up in some jail or something like that if they find me.

Not to mention, I had to have most of my belongings in my house vacated, sent over to where a cousin of mine lives in just because of how they nearly wrecked my house. Luckily for me he was more than happy to take care of it and all. The only thing left in my house, quite literally, are my knives.

Blending into the crowd, so long as I don't step out of it too much my fedora and coat manages to blend in pretty well, if a bit too outlandish at that. At least this isn't as exhausting to do as a Magical Girl, and with it I can force my way around too if needed, since I'm stronger than the average guy now.

So this is how the average person heads home, hmm? I think I'll just walk my way home, it shouldn't be too hard to do as a Magical Girl, though I might end up feeling tired afterwards.

Passing into the shopping district right smack at the center of town, it's still pretty much abuzz with people spending their last hours outside shopping, dining out and all. Truth be told, I'd rather be out of this fucking city right now, since that Sockpuppet Magical Girl might return sooner and later out for my blood. Pakka told me howeever that something's going down in this city sooner or later; I may not know what the fuck it is, but I want to at least know what's going on. If it's dangerous I can just easily teleport my way out of it anyway.

Right as I pass by the appliance store, I catch something quite unusual.

A girl, with an outfit resembling that of a television's color bars, emerging straight out of a television.

Great, now I'm in a Magical Girl horror story too?!

I haven't seen her around these parts however, so I might as well get some answers out of her.

"Heya over there."

Teleporting behind her, I put my hand over my shoulder.

She turns around to speak.

"H-Hiya!"

I don't think she likes being found out.

"Let me guess, you're a Magical Girl?"

"Y-Y-NO!"

That confirms it.

"Just means you're one then, otherwise I can't explain how you crawled out of that television like some sort of horror movie monster.

Hey, you know what, why not I introduce myself first. I'm Phantom Pain a-"

"AHH, THE TARGET! I'VE FOUND THE TARGET!"

Everyone's attention soon turns to the two of us.

Target. Fucking great, another round of Magical Girls after a mere day has passed is already here?! _Shit._

News Flash scrambles away, pushing her way through the crowd. If I lose her now, the situation might just get worse!

Immediately, I begin teleporting behind people, the problem now is that her petite size is making it pretty easy for her to hide inside the ocean of people currently walking around the shopping district!

...Wait. She might be petite, but her outfit is pretty garish. The colors should stand out compared to the majority of outfits people are wearing right now!

Climbing on top of a streetlight, I scan around the area for any sign of a disturbance caused by someone pushing around…

Over there! True enough, her outfit is also now pretty darn visible when looking from above!

I take a leap into the air, just to get that _extra_ tiny bit of distance closed between the both of us…

Voila! Back behind you.

Grabbing her from behind, first, I need to deal with this crowd that she's drawn the eyes of.

"H-HEY, LET ME G-GO!"

And now she's fucking squirming to break free. Fucking great, at least I'm not some old dude, which would make everything a whole lot worse!

"Easy now, kiddo, what did big sis tell ya about running off without her supervision again?!"

Surprisingly, I'm actually stronger than her. I've yet to pop my Healing Medicine because of the fucking rush I found myself in, but at least I won't have to burn through another piece just to keep her under my control.

"B-BIG S-SIS?!"

"Shut it kiddo, you're disturbing everyone around here."

Getting myself to move slowly through the crowd whilst dragging her, I begin turning to the multitudes of faces staring at the both of us.

"Heya heya y'all, sorry for my little sister over here being such a big bother! She's just quite the brat, you know? We'll be going home now though, hope we didn't disturb you all too much!"

And with that, they slowly began turning their heads away from the both of us, moving along with whatever the heck they were doing.

Great success!

Now, where should I interrogate this brat…

Oh, I know now!

Close to the shadier parts of the city I tried hiding in before was an old abandoned warehouse. If I can just sneak in there without rousing any suspicion at all…

That would be the perfect spot to hold an interrogation!

Good thing the direction I went getting away from the crowd was headed right there too, it should only be a few hundred or so meters away from me now.

It's about damn time I find out what the fuck's going on in this city.


End file.
